Control mechanism for coin actuated machines



Jan. 24, 1939. A. K. NORTON 2,144,807

CONTROL MECHANISM FOR COIN ACTUATED MACHINES Filed Dec. 28, 1936 jfraa/ve Patented Jan. 24, 1939 UNITED STATES CONTROL MECHANISM FOR GOINACTU- ATED MACHINES Alvin K. Norton, Portland, Oreg. ApplicationDecember 28, 1936, Serial No. 117,802

1 Claim.

This invention relates generally to vending machines, and particularlyto a control mechanism for coin actuated machines.

The main object of this invention is to protect coin controlled vendingmachines against the improper operation thereof.

The second object is to increase the difllculty of producing an improperoperation without adding to the original cost of the machine or to thecomplication of its mechanism.

I accomplish these and other objects in the manner set forth in thefollowing specification as illustrated in the accompanying drawing, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the principal element in the device.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the latch pawl.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section through the mechanism directlyconnected to my improved device showing the parts with no coin or thewrong coin being used.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the position of the partswhen a correct coin has been used. I

25 Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken along the line 5-5 in Fig. 3.

Similar numbers of reference refer to similar parts throughout theseveral views.

Before entering into an explanation of this 00 invention, it will beunderstood that it relates to that class of inventions commonly known tothe trade as Mills vending machines, of such class the machine describedin the U. S. Patent No. 1,706,896 is an example, although the mech- 35anism herein described does not apply to the mechanism of thisparticular patent.

In this class of machines a coin, such as a five cent piece, is insertedand a hand lever is operated for the purpose of delivering merchan-' 40dise to a customer. A common fault of such machines resides in the factthat it is easily possible to operate these machines in a manner to makeseveral deliveries of merchandise upon the making of one payment inmoney, this usually 45 being accomplished by drilling a small hole inthe case of the machine and inserting a wire by means of which themachine can be made to function improperly.

In order that the object of the present inven- 0 tion and its relationto existing machines may be better understood, it is stated that thecoin controlled bar Ill is identical with those now in use on themachines referred to and the movability of this bar is determined by theinser- 56 tion of a proper coin in a slot and the operation of certaingaging and value determining mechanism, not shown, since they do notform a part of the present invention, it being sufficient for thepresent purpose to know that the bar In is normally in a position shownin Fig. 3, but 5 if a proper coin is inserted, it can be manually movedto the position shown in Fig. 4.

On the frame H is mounted a pivot |2 which carries a. bell crank lever|3 whose upper end I4 is connected by means of a link l5 to the bar W. Aspring It returns the bar ID to the rest position shown in Fig. 3. Thelower end I! of the bell crank lever |3 has a laterally turned flange l8above which is disposed the hook IQ of a manually operated lever 20. 1

A downward movement of the lever from the position shown in Fig. 3 willcause the underside 2| of the hook l9 to engage the flange l8 and rockthe lever l3 and if the proper coin has been inserted, to move the barIn to the 20 position shown in Fig. 4.

Disposed on the frame H is a screw 22 upon which is pivotally mounted alatch pawl 23 whose book 24 is'adapted to engage a lug 25 projectingfrom the bar l0 when the parts are in the 25 position shown in Fig. 4.The pawl 23 is provided with a downturned stop arm 26 adapted to engagethe stop lug 21. Also formed on the pawl 23 is a trip lug 2|! whichextends downwardly. The pawl 23 has its hook 24 normally urged in 30 adownward direction by means of a spring 29.

A cover 30 and side wall 3| form a part of the machine casing.

Referring more particularly to my invention, same will be seen toconsist of a rock lever 32 which is pivotally mounted on the screw 33which is mounted on the frame The lever 32 is urged downwardly by meansof a spring 34 whose lower end is attached to the frame The end .35 ofthe lever 32 has a downwardly extending portion 36 which has an inturnedportion 31 whose underside is adapted to engage the hook l9 and whoseupper side is adapted to engage the trip lug 28. One side 38 is curledupwardly to facilitate the assembling of the parts and has no otherbearing on the present invention. The same is true of the downturnedportion 39.

It will be understood that in the operation of machines of this type acoin is first inserted, as stated, and if it is a proper coin permitsthe bar It! to be moved, or if it is an improper coin or a slug preventsthe bar H! from being moved. The lever 20 is then depressed and when theunderside 2| of the hook I9 engages the flange I 3 and moves the bellcrank lever l3, an efiort is made to move the bar I 0. If it ispermitted to move by the proper coin, it moves to the position shown inFig. 4, that is, in a latched position. During this movement of thelever 20, certain other operations have been occurring elsewhere in themachine, among which are the selection of the number of articles to bedelivered and the ejection thereof, that is, the actual delivery of thearticles to the purchaser.

It is the purpose of the present device to prevent a repetition of thedelivering operation, that is, to limit it to one delivery operation toeach selecting operation, since an attempt to repeat the deliveryoperation involves a return or upward movement of the lever 20.

It can be seen that with my device when the lever 20 is raised to apoint where the member 31 engages the trip lug 28, there is an almostinstantaneous release of the bar In which returns to its rest positionwhich in turn prevents any further manipulation of the machine untilanother coin is inserted. In other words, I have constructed my devicein a manner as to eliminate the period during which the mechanism can bejuggled for the purpose of making incorrect deliveries.

I claim:

In a machine of the class described, a rock lever having a pivotalopening formed between the ends thereof, both of said ends being turnedlaterally in the same direction and one of said laterally turned endsbeing turned downwardly and then inwardly toward the pivotal opening,said last mentioned end having a curved shoe formed transversely withthe body of said lever and extending upwardly on the side opposite saidfirst mentioned inturned ends.

ALVIN K. NORTON.

